NOTRE DAME, Ind. -
Twelve University of Notre Dame athletic teams earned perfect 1,000 scores -- more perfect scores than any other Football Bowl Subdivision school registered -- in the eighth annual set of Academic Progress Rate statistics issued Wednesday by the NCAA.

Notre Dame's 12 perfect scores of 1,000 led all FBS programs. Boston College and Duke tied for second with nine each, followed by Northwestern (eight), Vanderbilt (eight), Stanford (seven), North Carolina (five), Rice (five) and Texas (five).

The 2012 report released by the NCAA features a four-year compilation of APR data from the 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 academic years. The APR uses a series of formulas related to student-athlete retention and eligibility to measure the academic performances of all participants who receive grants-in-aid on every team at every NCAA Division I college and university.

The release follows the announcement last week by the NCAA of teams that posted multi-year APR scores in the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports. The public recognition awards were part of the broad Division I academic reform effort.

Notre Dame also had 17 programs honored in 2011 and 14 programs honored in both 2010 and 2009. Eleven Irish programs were honored each of the previous two years, in both 2007 and 2008.

Notre Dame this year led all FBS schools in number of programs honored, with Duke second with 13. Next in line were Boston College, Northwestern and Stanford with 10 each.

The APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester, by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete. The APR includes both retention at institution and academic eligibility in its calculation and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport.